Subscribe to Archivestuff Have your say Foreign Minister Winston Peters has dismissed Fiji's latest criticism of the Government and again called on Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama's regime to prove it intends holding elections in early 2009. Cdre Bainimarama, Fiji's military commander and self-appointed prime minister, yesterday accused the Government of "hypocrisy of the highest order" and said the extended travel ban on members of his interim government and its senior officials would impede the return to parliamentary democracy. The Government strengthened sanctions against Fiji on Monday in response to the expulsion of High Commissioner Michael Green.
Cdre Bainimarama reacted by saying New Zealand was punishing the people who were helping "move Fiji forward". "You don't need to fly to New Zealand to organise elections in Fiji," he said through a spokesman. "We want action, not words, and if they think agreeing in principle to hold elections is an action, then they need to think again.
" The Pacific Island Forum has set a timetable for progress towards an election in Fiji, which it says should be held in the first quarter of 2009. Cdre Bainimarama announced an "agreement in principle" but that has not satisfied Mr Peters or Prime Minister Helen Clark. They have both said Cdre Bainimarama has to prove his intentions before the Government considers lifting the travel ban and other sanctions.
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